A water fountain/ monument near the center of Darmstadt dedicated to Otto von Bismarck. It was built in 1906 and was sculpted by Ludwig Habich and Friedrich Pützer. There are benches off to the side where one can enjoy the fountain and listen to the running water. Be warned, the water is not for consumption.
Fountain/ Statue description from wikipedia (
visit link)
The statue is made of Franconian shell limestone. In the quatrefoil-shaped, low water basin on a round base there is a higher water basin, which is emphasized by four pillars with bronze reliefs, designed by Ludwig Habich. Among the reliefs are four small bronze gargoyles designed as animal heads. The approximately 3.50 meter high figure of Otto von Bismarck stands in the middle of the over 5 meter high stone pillar with gargoyles on the side. To ensure stability, there is a stone block with oak leaf decoration at the foot end between the coat hem and the feet. As with many other Bismarck monuments in Germany, the “Iron Chancellor ” is depicted as a military man, wearing a spiked helmet, uniform coat and boots. Bismarck had been an honorary citizen of the city of Darmstadt since March 1890.
Otto von Bismarck from wikipedia (
visit link)
Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck-Schönhausen , from 1865 Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen , from 1871 Prince of Bismarck , from 1890 also Duke of Lauenburg (born April 1 , 1815 in Schönhausen (Elbe) ; † July 30, 1898 in Friedrichsruh near Aumühle ), was a German politician and statesman . From 1862 to 1890 - with a short interruption in 1873 - he was Prime Minister of Prussia, and from 1867 to 1871 he was also Chancellor of the North German Confederation. From 1871 to 1890 he was the first Chancellor of the German Empire, whose founding he played a key role in promoting. Bismarck is considered to have completed German unification and to be the founder of the modern welfare state.
As a politician, Otto von Bismarck first made a name for himself in Prussia as a member of the First United State Parliament with predominantly conservative positions. From 1851 to 1862 he was a diplomat for the Bundestag of the German Confederation as well as in Russia and France. In the Prussian constitutional conflict, he was appointed Prime Minister by King Wilhelm I in 1862. In the fight against the liberals, Bismarck overrode parliament and was able to solve the German question in the Little German sense under the dominance of Prussia in the German-Danish War and the German War between 1864 and 1866. In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/71 he was the driving force behind the founding of the German Empire.
As Chancellor and Prussian Prime Minister, he played a decisive role in determining the politics of the newly created empire until his dismissal in 1890. In terms of foreign policy, he focused on balancing the European powers and opposed German colonial policy for a long time.
In terms of domestic policy, his reign after 1866 can be divided into two phases. First there was an alliance with the moderate liberals. During this time there were numerous domestic political reforms such as the introduction of civil marriage , with Bismarck combating resistance from the Catholic side with drastic measures (? Kulturkampf ). Since the late 1870s, Bismarck increasingly turned away from the liberals. This phase includes the transition to protective tariff policy and state interventionist measures. This particularly included the creation of the social security system. In terms of domestic politics, the 1880s were shaped not least by the repressive Socialist Law. In 1890, differences of opinion with Kaiser Wilhelm II, who had been in office for almost two years, led to Bismarck's dismissal.
In the years that followed, Bismarck still played a certain political role as a critic of his successors. In particular, through his widely read memoirs, Thoughts and Memories, he played a significant and lasting role in shaping his image in the German public. Bismarck was also known popularly and in historiography as the “Iron Chancellor”.